AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello! Welcome to Chapter 3 of 'The Rogue Clan'! I'm so glad that people are enjoying the story so far. I just wanted to let you all know, for those of you who are reading as I'm updating (As of June 2nd, 2019), some updates are being made to the Allegiances, Chapter 1, and Chapter 2. These changes were made in relation to RAVENPAW, yes, Ravenpaw. I will no longer be referring to him by a full Medicine Cat, and have completely omitted it from the story, just for the sake of avoiding spoilers later on. He never should have had a full name, due to the fact that he's never visited the Moonpool to be granted his full medicine cat name. I realized this after doing some research, and I apologize for making the mistake in the first place. (In my defense, I haven't read a Warrior book in a year and a half, and I have a crap memory to begin with.) Anyway, I just wanted to let everyone know that that's why his name has suddenly changed. If you've only known him by Ravenpaw, you can disregard this message entirely! Enjoy the chapter, and remember: You are smarter than you think and more beautiful than you know. Stay awesome!
Chapter 3
"Sungaze...Sungaze, wake up." Sungaze struggles to open his eyes, confused for a moment by the thick bedding beneath him and the warm scent of milk filling the air. He almost jumps to his feet, but thankfully remembers where he is in time to not injure one of the kits.
"What is it, Rainwing?" Sungaze meows quietly, carefully separating himself from the four bundles of fur at this belly. Mosskit and Fawnkit are greedily pawing at Iggy's belly, explaining the strong milk smell, while Moonkit and Songkit remain fast asleep. Sungaze can tell from the dimness that the day is coming to an end.
"We have a visitor." Sungaze quickly follows his littermate into the clearing, finding Ravenpaw positioned between the nursery and the camp entrance. Turtlepaw and Dewpelt have also positioned themselves between the visitor and the nursery, but neither of them seems as on guard as Ravenpaw as they welcome the visitor. Ravenpaw is a medicine cat, after all, valuing life and peace above all else. The new lives in the nursery surely mean as much to him as they do to Sungaze and Iggy.
"What does he want?" Sungaze meows to Rainwing and they position themselves beside Turtlepaw and Dewpelt. Their parents and the visitor are silent now, and Turtlepaw and Dewpelt share glances that make Sungaze hesitate in his fury toward this intruding cat. If Turtlepaw and Dewpelt haven't chased him off yet, he certainly said something to sway them in his favor.
"I'm not sure. Turtlepaw and Dewpelt sent me to get you as soon as he called out to us from outside the camp. I should've heard him coming, I was right by the entrance-"
"Quiet, Rainwing. There's nothing to be done about it now." Sungaze pads forward until he's shoulder-to-shoulder with his mother.
"Hello, there." The strange tom has a deep, gravely meow as if he spends all his time shrieking and hissing. Maybe he does, as his ears and face are covered with scars, obviously from fighting with other cats. His dark ginger coat is even missing patches of fur along his flank and he still smells of blood, as if he'd been in a fight very recently.
"Hello," Sungaze responds coldly. All he can think of is his mate, exhausted and unable to defend herself, their kits suckling at her belly.
"Sungaze, this is Bark. He's come because he wants to join our clan." Dewpelt's statement stops Sungaze in his tracks, and he looks at the large tom with new appreciation. Ever since Dewpelt and Turtlepaw had settled here, it had always been their intention to start their own clan. Most of the cats in the land of the mist were uninterested, deterred by their rules and beliefs, but willing to let the clan settle and mark their own territories. They had only been threatened by a few cats who tried to force the clan away, but after Sungaze and his littermates became apprentices, any cats were severely outmatched.
"I've been trying to find a home for as long as I can remember. My mother abandoned me in the wild as soon as I was old enough to fight for myself, and I've been doing so ever since. I've come across a few cats around here that told me about a group of cats who live and fight together here, in the mist lands. It didn't take long to find your border markings, and I couldn't wait." Bark completely bows his head to the clan cats, exposing his neck to them, a symbol of trust. "Please. Allow us to join you."
"Us?" Dewpelt questions. Sungaze tastes the air, searching for the scent of other cats, but there is nothing. Whoever Bark is talking about, they're not nearby.
"I have a mate and two kittens. They were born a half moon ago. That's why I was so anxious to meet you all. I can't protect Apple and my kits on my own." Bark's voice is soft as he discusses his mate and kittens. He sounds the same way Sungaze does when he talks about Iggy and their own kittens. Turtlepaw takes the lead.
"Bark, we've heard your plea. We will consider your request. Return at sunrise and we'll decide your fate, whether you and your family can join us, or if you'll have to leave the land of the mist."
"I understand. Thank you for your consideration." With that, the stocky tom turns and leaves, reaching a sprint by the time he's at the camp entrance. In a moment, he's gone.
"I'm calling a clan meeting." Dewpelt barely has to raise his voice, since all of the clan cats, aside from Iggy, had come to the clearing when Bark had arrived. Within a few moments, the clan has formed a loose circle. Even Iggy limps the entrance of the nursery, settling within earshot of the meeting and the kits.
"Another cat wants to join us?" Iggy asks, looking to Sungaze with a mix of fear and excitement. She knows as well as he does that the goal will always be to build their clan until they are strong and equal to the clans around the lake. Maybe then Starclan will accept them.
"More than just him," Sungaze tells her. "He has a mate and two kits as well."
"Another queen?" Iggy's eyes are wide, and she turns to glance at their own sleeping kits. "it might be nice to have a bit of company."
"But can we trust them? What if they plan to destroy us from the inside? We've never had cats approach us like this before. They could be mean and nasty; they could be planning to take over our land or-" Dewpelt cuts off Rainwing's ranting.
"Rainwing, you are a warrior. Not a worrying, loud-mouthed apprentice. Let us speak. We will all get a chance to voice our opinions on this matter and make a decision that is best for the clan."
"I think we should give them a chance. All kits deserve to be raised in a clan. That's my final stance, but you all will make the right decision for us, I'm sure." With that, Iggy disappears back into the nursery, and Sungaze can recognize the loud mewling of Songkit as her mother returns to their nest.
"I agree with Iggy," Ravenpaw meows firmly. "While their kits health and safety are my main priority, I also recognize that Bark himself is in no shape to be fending for a queen and young cats all on his own. I could smell infection on him from a foxlength away. His wounds need healing."
"Yes, and he had a slight limp as well," Turtlepaw agrees with Ravenpaw.
"What do you think, Dewpelt?" Sungaze asks, wanting his father's opinion before expressing his own feelings on the matter.
"He seemed sincere, and I could tell he was genuinely worried about the safety of his family. My main concern is that this cat is obviously a fighter, and it doesn't seem that he only fights when absolutely necessary. He has so many scars, I'd assume his preference is to fight rather than negotiate. Of course, many apprentices act the same way before completing their warrior training. It is the instinct of untrained cats to start battles, even when they know they can't win." Dewpelt is so calm and collected, and Sungaze is filled with respect for his father. He can fully imagine Dewpelt as Dewstar, leading their clan and making the best decisions for the good of them all.
"I agree," Rainwing meows humbly. It's probably the shortest sentence his littermate has ever uttered, but after the scolding from Dewpelt, Sungaze assumes the she-cat is practicing her best self-control.
"But the question is, can he be trained otherwise?" Sungaze ponders aloud and Turtlepaw nods.
"I believe he can. He was well-mannered when in our presence, showing no signs of aggression whatsoever. I think he does have a fierce streak, but I think this may stem from fear. Fear of not being able to protect himself, let alone his family. As he said, he was left to fend for himself from a young age, and cats like that are often fearful of others." Turtlepaw seems lost in thought like she once knew a cat like Bark who had been left for themselves. Sungaze wonders where his mother would ever have met a cat like that.
"Now that everyone has been able to express their opinions, let's take a vote. Rainwing, can you collect some stones?" Rainwing gives a sharp nod before going just outside the camp walls where there's a collection of small stones and pebbles. She comes back with six stones, one for each of the cats in the clan.
"Put a stone here if you agree that Bark, Apple, and their kits should join our clan," Dewpelt draws a circle in the sandy floor of the clearing with one sharp claw before moving on to the second circle. "And place a stone here if you disagree."
Turtlepaw quickly steps forward and drops a stone in the circle of agreement.
"For Iggy," The brown and white she-cat explains. She then drops another stone into the circle for agreement. "And for me."
Ravenpaw steps up next, also setting his stone in the circle for agreement. Sungaze glances quickly between the circles, but before he can decide, Rainwing steps forward and sets her stone in the disagreement circle. Dewpelt steps forward and drops his stone next to Rainwing's, shocking his mate and his sons. Sungaze knows his father isn't the most trusting cat, even dismissing sweet Iggy when Turtlepaw and Ravenpaw had first brought her to camp, but this decision shocked everyone except Rainwing. Maybe his father and his she-cat littermate are more similar than he imagined. Sungaze realizes the vote has come down to him. But his decision was made from the moment Bark told them about his kits. He steps forward and drops his stone beside Iggy's.
"Then it is decided." Dewpelt meows, not sounding happy, but not upset, either. "Bark, Apple, and their kits will join our clan."